Thread-pulling machine



Jan. 2, 1951 P. cooK THREAD-PULLING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 25, 1947 Iawenivr 1 123 03 69055,

by Z M, M

Jan. 2, 1951 P. COOK 2,536,594

THREAD-PULLING MACHINE Filed April 25, 1947 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 lava @21- 800%, y 1 MM Jan. 2, 1951 P. cooK THREAD-PULLING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed April 25, 1947 P. COOK Jan. 2, 1951 THREAD-PULLING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed April 25, 1947 LINE MICRO MICRO LINE I SWITCH mono 2 swrrcu FIELD SWITCH A L mn IW S 2 ARM.

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FIELD LINE I M IORO SWITCH O MICRO SWITCH LINE r I p I HOTO TUBE W6) I I I v I '---T Jan. 2, 1951 P. 600K THREAD-PULLING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed April 25, 1947 MAGNETIC SWITCH PRIMARY I TRANSFORMER ..SEGONDARY AGE 952A PHOTO ELECTRIC l RELAY AGTIVATOR LIGHT Patented Jan. 2, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT orrics 11 A Claims. 1

This invention relates to the art of textile finishing and is concerned with certain operations which follow the dyeing of a web of cloth in a twisted, rope-like condition. When the cloth is exceptionally wide, seventy-two inches, for ex-' ample, it is customary to tack or sew the two selvages together on a single-thread, chainstitch, sewing machine before twisting and dyeing the fabric. After the dyeing, the chainstitch tacking thread is pulled out, the cloth is opened, and other operations follow. The threadpulling or de-tacking operation takes place between the de-twisting and the opening. The detwisting may be accomplished, for example, by a de-twisting machine such as that which is the subject-matter of Patent No. 2,248,962 issued to me July 15, 1941, and having its operation controlled by the method and means which is the subject matter of Patent No. 2,411,414, issued to me November 19, 1946.

One object of my present invention is to accomplish the de-tacking or thread pulling by a machine in which the rate of motion of the thread shall be automatically synchronized with the rate of motion of the cloth so that the thread shall not be too tight, with consequent danger of breakage. Sometimes, however, in spite of carefully regulated control, the thread will break, and sometimes there is a pre-existing skip which took place in the tacking operation, or a threadbreak during the dyeing operation.

It is therefore another object of this invention to provide means to utilize any such break or skip to stop the entire cloth-handling range, i. e. the travel of the cloth pending re-threading of the de-tacker or thread-puller--this operation likewise being automatic.

. In the attainment of these objects I have provided a machine and a set of controls which are entirely automatic and require no attendant except when, as stated, the machine must be rethreaded.

Another object is to provide manually operable synchronizing means which can be brought into play if and when anything goes wrong with the automatic controls, thus making it unnecessary to shut down the cloth range completely pending repairs to the automatic control.

Still another object is to provide an arrangement of coacting, thread-pulling rolls (one of which is knurled) so arranged that when the thread breaks (or is otherwise missing) the peripheries of the rolls shall not contact with each other, with consequent injury to the knurling, but shall remain separated a predetermined, adjustable distance.

Other objects and advantages will appear during the following description of one specific embodiment of the invention, while its scope will be pointed out more particularly in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Figs. 1 and 2 are, respectively, a plan and side elevation of a cloth handling range including a ole-tacking or thread-pulling machine embodying the invention;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the thread-pulling machine viewed from the side opposite to that shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is an elevation of the machine as viewed from the right-handside of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a plan of a portion of the machine on a larger scale, showing a large part of the threadhandling mechanism;

Figs. 6A, 6B and 6C are diagrams illustrating the circuit arrangements for the reversible motor;

Figs. 7A and 7B are diagrams illustrating the circuit arrangement for the photo-electric cell; and

Fig. 8 is a general circuit diagram.

Referring to the drawings and to the embodiment of the invention illustrated therein as an example, and having reference at first to Figs. 1 and 2, there is shown a truck it for the ropedcloth l2 and a truck 14 for the opened-cloth H6. The roped-cloth, ascending, passes through an eye I8, over a roller 20, and thence through a de-twister 22 essentially the same as that of my aforesaid Patent No. 2,248,962, though placed horizontally instead of vertically. Adjacent the opened-cloth truck I4 there is appropriate mechanism 24, known to the art, by which the cloth is opened, the water extracted, and the cloth distributed to and fro, and piled in zigzag fashion in the truck 14. The precise character of the mechanism 24 is of no particular importance to my present invention except for the fact that it includes a draw-roll 28 to draw the cloth from the de-twister 22. This draw-roll is suitably driven as by an electric motor 23 which, as will later appear, is wired in series with the driving motor of a de-tacker or thread-puller 30 so that both can be started and stopped together by a control which is part of the thread-puller 30. The thread-puller should be disposed about midway between the de-twister 22 and'the mechanism 24 and somewhat to one side of the path of the cloth, and it may be supported on a post on the floor or it may be supported on a Wall, if convenient.

The thread-puller 38 will now be described.

reference being had at first to Fig. 4. The thread 32 extends from the cloth downwardly and laterally to and through an inverted V-shaped thread guide 3:3 on a control element such as a lever 36 having a fulcrum 38 on a suitable support such as a bracket it. This control element, as will presently appear, controls the speed of a threadpulling wheel 42 over which the thread 32 is wrapped. On its way to this wheel, the thread is guided by a suitable guide such as an eye i i supported on the bracket 4!]. Between the eye and the thread-pulling wheel, the thread is tensioned by suitable thread-tensioning means such as washers between which the thread is pressed by a spring d2- stressed by a nut 58 threaded on a stem 52 on a stud supported by the bracket 40.

Returning now to the thread-pulling wheel 42, the thread is wrapped part way about this wheel, and is then wrapped part way about a second and smaller idler-wheel 5%, where the thread is stripped from the wheel by a scraper 51 and drops into a receptacle not shown. The idler-wheel is movable toward and from the larger wheel as by being mounted on a stud 58 on an arm 68 pivoted on a stud $2. The idler-wheel is urged toward but not against the larger wheel by suitable means such as a spring (it but is prevented from contacting therewith by appropriate means such as an adjustable stop, herein a screw engaged by a shoulder 68 on the arm 63. Engagement of one wheel with the other, in the event of thread breakage and consequent absence of thread between the wheels, is undesirable because the larger wheel is knurled to grip the thread, and this knurling would be injured by contact with the idler-wheel.

Power is applied to the larger thread-pulling wheel 52 by appropriate means under the control of the control element 36, the arrangement being such that the speed of the thread-pulling wheel is proportioned to or synchronized with the rate of travel of the cloth. One appropriate variable-speed driving means is a commercially obtainable friction drive mechanism Til known as the Worthington Allspeed Drive, referred to as an instantaneous variable speed control, licensed under one or more of U. S. Patents 2,235,122; 2,340,704; 2,342,604; and 2,360,026 and manufactured by Worthington Pump and Machinery Corporation. This drive is preferred because it affords a wide speed variation of the output shaft in relation to the input shaft.

This variable-speed, power-transmitting mechanism has a housing '52 which houses mechanism including an input shaft it (see Fig. 3) and an output shaft it. The thread-pulling wheel 22 is secured to the output shaft it, and thus, by variation of the speed of the output shaft, the speed of the thread-pulling wheel is variable through a wide range to accommodate it to the rate of travel of the cloth. Between the input and output shafts there is a ratio-varying mechanism whose principles and mode of operation are so Widely known that a description of it seems superfluous. It will suffice to say that the ratio adjustment is effected b turning in one direction or the other a control shaft 2'8 ordinarily furnished with an operating arm 8E5 which, when rocked to and fro causes the change of ratio between the input and output shafts. With my novel automatic control presently to be described, the arm 8% may be removed, but if for any reason the automatic control should fail while cloth is passing through the cloth-range, the arm may be placed in service temporarily and until repair can be effected after completion of the Web of cloth.

To this end, I have provided a convenient manual control including a nut 82 having a stud 8Q pivoted on the arm, said nut being threaded on a screw 85 to which there is secured a crankdisk 83 having a handle 9% for rotating the screw.

However, except in an emergency, the hand adjustment is not used but is disconnected, and there is provided an automatic control such as that now to be described. To the control shaft it there is secured a spur gear 92 meshing with and turned by a spur gear 94 affixed to a shaft Q6 of an electric motor t3 which may be referred to as the speed-varying motor because it is utilized to adjust the speed-ratio of the drive for the thread-pulling wheel 32. The motor $8 is reversible in order that it may be utilized to turn the control shaft in one direction or the other, an required.

The starting, stopping and reversal of direction of the motor 98 are accomplished for example by two commercially obtainable micro-switches I68 (see Fig. 4) between which the control lever 36 is disposed. When the travel of the thread under the influence of the thread-pulling wheel is exactly proportioned to the rate of travel of the cloth, the control lever 36- will remain in mid-position between the micro-switches H30. However, if the rate of travel of the cloth should increase or diminish, the angularity of the thread to the cloth would change in one direction or the other (see Fig. 5) and this change would be accompanied by an increased thread-tension which, if not promptly corrected, would cause thread breakage. One way to make the correction, and the one which is shown herein, is to utilize the varying angle of the thread to rock the control lever 35 in one direction or the other and thus to cause the lever to operate one or the other of the micro-switches 168 by engagement of the lever with a leaf-spring H92 which presses a switchbutton i ea inwardly and thus closes the switch to complete a circuit which will cause the motor 9% to run in one direction or the other, depending upon which switch was closed. A suitable circuit arrangement for this purpose is shown diagrammatically in Figs. 6A, 6B and 6C and will be described later.

Returning now to theinput shaft 14 of the speed-changer, power is furnished to said shaft by an electric motor tilt whose shaft IE8 is connected to said input shaft as by a V-belt H9 and two puileys l !2 and 1 id, one secured to the motor shaft and the other to the speed-changer input shaft. It is important to note that this motor is connected in series with the motor 28 which drives the draw-roll 2'5. It follows that both will start, and stop together. This is of the greatest importance because, if the thread should break, the travel of the cloth should cease promptly and this can be accomplished by stopping the drawroll 25. The thread-puller motor I05 should stop for two reasons, (1) because it would be diflicult if not impossible to re-thread the machine unless it stopped, and (2) the machine should restart when the cloth re-starts.

To this end, I have provided means to utilize breakage of the thread to break the motor circuit. The occurrence of the break is, of course, due to the fact that when the angle of the thread to the cloth varies greatly from the ideal angle, the tension of the thread increases. In other words,

change of angle is accompanied by change of tension. Too great change of angle is of course guarded against by the automatic control already described, but if the thread should nevertheless break or if there was a skip in the sewing so that there is no thread-continuity at that point, the lack of thread at the thread-puller is utilized to stop the draw-roll and hencethe cloth-travel as well as the thread-puller itself..

This control means will now be described, reference being had to Fig. 4. Between the thread: tension device it-4B and the thread-pulling wheel ..2 there is a break-detector of suitable character such as a lever H6 resting at its lower end upon the thread 32 and mounted on a pivot H3. If no thread is present, as in the case of a break or a skip, the lower end of the lever will swing downwardly on the pivot I [8. This motion is utilized to operate an appropriate electrical control to break the motor circuit. One such control is a photo-electric cell [213 (see Fig. 3) associated with a light-source such as an electric-lamp I22 and separated therefrom by a narrow gap I24 to receive a barrier 525 carried by the upper end of the lever H6 and arranged to enter the gap and out off the light from the photo-electric cell when the thread breaks. The photo-electric cell being thus ale-energized, operated through appropriate circuit arrangements shown in Figs. 7A and 7B to break the motor circuit and stop the cloth travel as well as the thread-puller.

The circuit arrangements for the reversible motor 98 will now be described, reference being had to Figs. 6A, 6B and 6C. The motor which I prefer to employ is the universal type using either alternating or direct current. The armature and the field are connected in series, though they are not connected inside the motor, but the two wires which bring current to the armature and the two wires which bring current to the field coils are brought out through the motor casing so that the switches Ito may be used to change the direction of rotation of the motor.

The switches its which I prefer to employ are a well-known, commercially available type of single-pole, double-throw switch having a snap action. This is commercially known as a microswitch and is made by Micro Switch Corporation, of Freeport, Illinois. When there is no pressure on either switch-button HM (see Fig. 5), the switches are as shown in Fig. 6A. The two ends of the field coil are connected through the switches to one side of the line. There is no connection between the field coil and the armature, and therefore the motor will not run.

When, however, one of the switch buttons 104 is pressed by the lever 35 (see Fig. 5) the switch in question (the upper one in Figs. 6A, 6B and 6C) snaps to the position shown in Fig. 613. Current now flows from one side of the line through the top contact of the other (the lower) switch, through the switch arm to one end of the field coil, through the latter to its other end, whence the current passes through the switch arm and lower contact of the upper switch and through the armature of the motor to the other line wire. The motor will now run in a direction which may be considered forward.

On the other hand, if the button m4 of the upper switch me be released by the lever 35 and the button of the other switch (the lower one in Fig. 6C) be pressed by the lever, current will flow from one line wire through the top contact of the upper switch through the switch arm of the latter to one end of the field coil, then through the field 6? coil and switch'arm and bottom contact of the lower switch, and through the motor armature to the other line wire. Thus, the current now passes through the field coil of the motor in a direction opposite to its travel in Fig. 6B and therefore the motor armatur will run in a reverse direction.

When the switch-operating lever 33 returns to its mid-position shown in Figs. 4 and 5 con.- sequent upon correction of the speed of the thread-travel (and hence the restoration of the correct thread-tension and the correct thread-.- angularity to the cloth) both switches I00 are now restored to the condition shown in Fig. 6A and the motor 98 is at rest.

The circuit arrangements for the motor I06 will now be described, reference being had at first to Figs. 7A and 7B which show the photoelectric control, the one which I prefer to employ being a commercially available unit manufactured by Photoswitch, Inc, Combridge Massachusetts. The relay in this particular unit has a double-pole, double-throw switch, but as used in connection with my detacking machine control only two wires are connected to the switch, one to one switch arm and one to the bottom contact on the same side. It is connected in series with the stop button of a push-button station, presently to be described, for manually starting and stopping the whole apparatus.

The photocontrol unit may be thought of as a single pole switch which is operated by a light beam. When the photo tube is illuminated by a light beam (see Fig. 7A) the switch is closed, and when the tube is not illuminated (see Fig. 7B) because of the interposition of the barrier l2t, the switch is open. Thus, the motor [86 (as well as the motor 28 in series therewith) is stopped when a thread is absent from beneath the feeler H6, and may be restarted after the rethreading operation, and after the start button at the push-button station is pressed.

The push-button station will now be described, reference being had to Fig. 8. This station is used for remote manual control of the magnetic switch presently to be described. The station comprises two single pole switches, one designated start and the other stop. The start switch is normally open and is closed by pushing the start button, while the stop switch is normally closed and is opened by pushing the stop button. When finger pressure on either button is removed, the switch returns to its normal position. This is a form of control which is well-known and commercially available.

The magnetic switch will now be described, reference being had to Fig. 8. This switch, also commercially available, is a four-pole, singlethrow switch having four sets of contacts which are closed simultaneously by a, solenoid electromagnet. Three sets of contacts control current to the motors 28 and I96, while the fourth set is connected in parallel with the start switch of the push-button station, so that when the start button is released, the control-magnet circuit will not be broken.

The motors 28 and H16 which I prefer to employ are three-phase, alternating current, induction motorssquirrel-cage type (see Fig. 3). To supply a lower voltage to the photo control unit, I provide a common single-phase transformer (see Fig. 8) connected across two wires of the three-phase, three-wire, power line, as is well-known.

In Fig. 8, the main, or power circuits are shown in heavy lines and the control circuits are shown absence in light lines. As already indicated, power is supplied to the two motors .28 and .106 from a three-phase line. The two motors are controlled by the same magnetic switch, and therefore start and .stop simultaneously for reasons which have .been explained.

The control circuit supplies power to operate the electro-magnet which opens and closes the magnetic switch. This circuit comprises .0.) an electro-magnet and thermal overload relay .in the magnetic switch, (2) start :and stop switches .in the push-button control station, and 1(3) the relay in the photo-control unit. The electromagnet, the overload relay, the start and stop buttons, .and the relay in the photo-control unit are .all connected in series. As already stated, the reduced voltage :for the photo-control unit is obtained by .a step-down transformer. .A single-pole snap switch is :connected in series with the line to control power :to the unit. .A further step-down to .a very low voltage .(16 volts) is taken from the photo-control .unit in accordance with well-known practice .in connection with such .units. vIn Fig. :8, crossed but not connected wires are indicated by simply crossing athem. Wires which are crossed and also connected are shown withspots at the'points of connection.

The starting and stopping will now .be described. To start, power to the photo-unit control must be turned on by the snap switch, .and the photo tube illuminated. The start button is then pressed, whereupon current flows from line 2 through w irez3, through the" -start switch, through the stop switch, through the relay in the photo-control unit, through wire 1 to the electro-magnet and through the .overload relay to line 2. This causes the electro-magnet-to-close the switch. The start button is held-down only long enough to close the switch. When the switch closes, the contacts i areclosed, and these close the circuit across the start switch, so that the circuit through the manget will not be broken. To stop, either the stop button is pressed, or the absence of the thread causes the barrier are to be interposed between the phototube 12-0 and the light-source I22, whereupon the circuit through the magnet is "broken and the motors stop. After rethreading, the motors must be restarted by pressing the -start "button.

"Having thus described one embodiment of the invention, what I claim is:

i. In a de-tacker or thread-pulling :machine for use b tween a de-twister and a cloth-opener to pull out the thread which tacks the selveges tgether, the combination of rotary thread pulling'means,'powei operated variable speedmeans to drive the thread-pulling means and means controlled by variations in the angularity of the thread with respect "to the line of cloth travel for adjusting the variable speed "means thereby to synchronize the thread speed with that of the cloth.

2. In a de-tacker or thread-pullin machine for use between a dc-twister and a cloth-opener to pull out the thread which tacks "the selvages together, the combination of a revers'ible-direc tion driver, a variable-speed mechanism "whose speed-variations are controlled by said reversible-direction driver, thread-pulling means driven by said variable speed mechanism, and means controlled by the thread leading to said thread-pulling means to control the reversals of direction of said driver.

3. In a de-tacker or thread-pulling machine for use between a de-twister and a cloth-opener to the thread which :tacks {the selvages together, the combination .of a reversible-direction driver, .a variable-speed mechanism whose speed-variations are controlled by said revversi'b'lendireotion driver, thread-pulling means driven by said variable speed mechanism, and a dealer non-trolled :by the thread leading to :said thread pulling means to control the reversals of direction of said driver.

=4. In a .detacker, tor thread-pulling machine, for :use between a :de-twister and a cloth-opener to pull out the thread which tacks the selvages together, a, reversible-direction electric motor, a variable-speed mechanism whose speed-variations are controlled by reversals of the motor, switch means e'fiec'ting the motor reversals, thread-pulling means driven by the variable speed mechanism, the thread having a given path from the cloth when being pulled at a selected rate relative to the cloth travel, and a control element for the switch means movable by deviation of the thread from said given path.

In a thread-pulling machine for use with a cloth-range in which the dc-tacked and opened cloth is drawn lengthwise by a power-driven draw-roll, the combination of thread-pulling means to which the thread travels, a detector responsive to breakage or other absence of thread, and photo-electric means operable .on call by the detector to render the draw-roll inactive so as to cause stoppage of the cloth.

e. in -a thread-pulling machine for use with a cloth-range in which the de-tacked-and opened cloth is drawn lengthwise by a power-driven draw-roll, the combination of thread-pulling means, a detector adjacent the path of the thread as it travels to said thread-pulling means, said detector being responsive to the presence and the absence of the thread, and means including a photo-electric relay operated 'by said detector to cause travel of the cloth to cease when thread is absent from the sphere of influence of said detector.

7. In a thread-pulling machine for use with a cloth range in which the dc-tacked and opened cloth is drawn lengthwise by a power-driven draw-roll, the combination of thread-pulling means to which the thread travels, a threaddeltector disposed along the path which the thread travels and arranged 'to respond to'variation of said :path, means operated by such variation to 'vary the speed of 'pull exerted by said threadpulling means, .and means to cause cessation of cloth-travel in consequence of the absence of thread.

8. In a machine ,for pulling a tacking thread from a lengthwise-travellin web of cloth, the combinationof athread pulling wheel, and manua'lly-operable speed-varying means to cause the thread to be drawn from the cloth by said wheel at .varying speeds including increased and decreased speeds as appropriate so that the threadtravei shall be proportioned to the cloth travel.

19. In amachine for pulling a tacking thread from a lengthwise-travelling web of cloth, the combination of ,a thread-pulling wheel, means for applying power to said wheel .to cause the latter to pull the thread, and manually operable means to cause a .Gh-ange of drive rate accorded by said power-applying means to said wheel.

ii). ',In amachine for pulling .a tacking thread from .a lengthwise-travelling web of cloth, the combination .of a thread-pulling wheel, means for applying power to said wheel to cause the latter to pull the thread, and manually operable means to cause a change of drive rate accorded by said power-applying means to said wheel, said manually operable means including a rotatable hand-wheel, and gearing means to utilize rotation of said hand-wheel in one direction to increase the speed of said thread-pulling wheel, and to utilize rotation of said hand-wheel in the opposite direction to decrease the speed of said thread-pulling wheel.

11. In a de-tacker or thread-pulling machine for use ahead of a cloth opener to pull out the thread which tacks together the selvages of a cloth travelling to the opener, the combination of thread-pulling means, a variable speed drive for the thread-pulling means, and means to regulate said drive to increase and to decrease the thread-pulling rate according to change in presentation of the thread by the travelling cloth. PERCY COOK.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,986,746 Quick et a1. Jan. 1, 1935 2,023,515 Chatfield Dec. 10, 1935 2,124,104 Chatfield July 19, 1938 1 2,238,992 Croft Apr. 22, 1941 2,333,613 Audreotto Nov. 2, 1943 2,343,267 Swett Mar. 7, 1944 2,422,154 Weller June 10, 1947 

